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Report: Kevin Randleman, former UFC champion and MMA pioneer, dead at 44

Sad, sad news ...

In Oct. 1996, a 24-year old former Ohio State University (OSU) standout wrestler, Kevin Randleman, entered a one-night tournament in Brazil.

Randleman defeated Luiz Macial, Geza Kalman and future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pride FC competitor, Dan Bobish, to win the tournament. Eight months later, "The Monster" would make his UFC debut, picking up a big win over former champion, Maurice Smith, to avenge his training partner and mentor, Mark Coleman. Randleman would lose in the finals of that tournament two months later to Bas Ruten in one of the more controversial decisions of the early mixed martial arts (MMA) era, but avenge Coleman once again by defeating Pete Williams to win UFC's Heavyweight Championship.